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Archives - February 2019

Normally we think of cats as having "nine lives," but what if there were an alternate universe where humans actually did and each life "number" corresponded to certain social privileges? That is the premise of Zach Hines' 2018 dystopian debut NINE, wher in an alternate world startlingly close to our own, humans have nine lives. As you shed lives, you shed your awkward phases: one death is equal to one physical and mental upgrade. Julian’s friends are obsessed with the idea of burning, but Julian is determined to stay on his first life for as long as he can. His mother burned too fast and inflicted a debilitating rebirth sickness on herself. But when becomes a target for Nicholas, the manipulative leader of the Burners, the school’s suicide club, he uncovers suspicious gaps in the rebirth system. Along with a group of student dissenters, Julian sets out to find answers and is soon on the verge of exposing the greatest conspiracy ever unleashed on the world. Our reviewer Jena Brown had a chance to talk to Zach Hines about his dystopian novel, from parallel universes to world-building to the possibility of a sequel. Keep reading to check out what Zach had to say!